BY: Venus Popplewell, LWC Director of Public Relations
Lindsey Wilson College students will soon begin to see some financial relief from unexpected expenses incurred due to the disruption of campus operations because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of the federal government’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, LWC will receive an allocation of funds to assist eligible students whose face-to-face classes were suspended for the spring term. The emergency cash grant will help students cover additional expenses (i.e., food, housing, course materials, technology, health care or childcare) incurred because of the College’s need to transition to an online learning format.
Eligible students include undergraduate degree-seeking students who were enrolled in the spring 2020 semester on the main or extended campuses whose classes were face-to-face. Students also need to have applied for federal student aid by submitting a 2019-20 FAFSA and have an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) not more than $20,000. Ineligible students per federal guidelines include those taking primarily online courses and international or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) students.
“We know students are struggling as a result of this pandemic,” said LWC President William T. Luckey Jr. “The difficult decisions made to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have negatively impacted financially vulnerable students and their families. The CARES Act emergency cash grant is an important addition to Lindsey Wilson’s existing support programs and will be passed directly to students as quickly as we can make it happen.”
According to LWC Vice President for Administration and Finance Mark Coleman, the College will immediately distribute the funds earmarked for emergency cash grants as soon as it is received from the federal government.
“The funds will be disbursed to eligible students in the form of an emergency cash grant to help offset their expenses,” said Coleman. “Lindsey Wilson expects to release these funds to students as soon as it is received at the College. We are anticipating receiving the funds from the Department of Education within the next two weeks.”
The federal government asked that priority be given to the students with the highest financial need. Therefore, the College based the emergency cash grants on EFC providing more support for those with a greater financial need.
The emergency cash grants are in addition to the room and board reimbursements already refunded to students by the College.
